Looking a little lost, Red asked:
"Uh… can you explain the levels to me again? I wasn't really paying attention during class."
"Red, seriously? You're such a pain!" Cry replied. "Levels are the basics. Fine, I'll give you a quick rundown—listen carefully, I won't repeat myself."
"Yes, sir!" Red said with a laugh. He never cared much for theory or learning from books. He preferred figuring things out on his own and trying his own experiments. But this time, with his harmony getting closer, he didn't want to make a fatal mistake and listened carefully to his friends.
"You can harmonize with as many monsters as you want—the only catch is, you can only have one at a time. Once you succeed with your first harmony, if you fight monsters, you'll gain experience. With that, you can level up and become much stronger. But if you decide to switch to a new monster, you'll have to start back at level 1 with that new monster."
"Hm, okay… and if I learned some abilities, could I still use them?" Red asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Harmony is a complex process. The chief told me it changes you deep down. The monster's soul merges with your body, and you gain new physical traits unique to that monster."
"Okay… it's a little complicated, but I kinda get it. Thanks for explaining."
"One last thing—do you remember that to complete the harmony, you have to touch the monster for at least three seconds?"
"Uh… yeah, yeah, the chief mentioned that earlier. I'm fired up now! Enough talking—let's go find some monsters!"
"Alright, let's go. But stay alert—we never know," Cry said cautiously.
Near the village entrance, there was a small lake with only a few fish and frogs, and a small forest. Aside from that, a wide, peaceful plain covered most of the area. Cry quietly scanned the surroundings as they walked on. Everything was new to him, and he was enjoying being outside with his best friends. Once they reached the far side of the lake, they could feel there were more monsters around—and stronger ones than the little rabbit at the village entrance.
"Stay sharp and let's stick together," Cry suggested.
"Okay!" his two friends replied in unison.
The vast plain had only a few large trees, leaving monsters little room to hide. The three of them exchanged signals and moved toward a big oak—they could sense a lone presence there. They tried to make as little noise as possible, circling to trap the monster.
"One, two, three—go! Grab it!" Cry shouted at the last moment. They pounced on the poor creature, which turned out to be nothing more than a wild cat. With all three attacking at once, the cat was quickly cornered, and Red managed to catch it—though not without difficulty. "Scratch, scratch!" The young boy was clawed repeatedly, but he held on to the small monster.
"It's just a wild cat, but it sure is feisty," Red said, a little disappointed. He was about to let it go when Summer, charmed by the creature, said:
"Oh, it's so cute! And it's all white—I love it! Look at its beautiful long fur."
"Ah, girls… You're not seriously going to choose your first monster just because it's cute, right?" the boy teased.
"I'm going to harmonize with it!" Summer said, brimming with excitement.
"Your choice… I don't want it—and neither does Cry, it seems," Red said, clearly surprised by his friend's pick. Still, everyone could do as they pleased, and he wasn't about to dwell on it. All he wanted was to find his own monster.
Summer slowly approached the wild cat still struggling in Red's grip. It squirmed, but he had a firm hold—it wouldn't be escaping easily. The young girl touched the monster with her right hand, where her soul stone was embedded, counted to three, then shouted:
"Harmony!"
Fwoooosh!!! A dazzling white light burst between the wild cat and Summer. The two boys were blinded, visibly stunned by the surreal scene.
It was strikingly similar to the divine power during the ceremony—and now Summer could do it herself. For these young warriors-in-training, it was nothing short of extraordinary.
When the light faded, they all looked at her soul stone, now completely white, and saw that the wild cat had vanished. It was incredible.
Summer felt deep changes within her, as if the monster's DNA had fused with her own. She had never felt so full of energy. Even the simplest movement felt different. Everything seemed possible, and that exhilaration showed on her face. She was overjoyed.
The boys studied her carefully to see if anything about her had changed, but they couldn't really tell. From the outside, their childhood friend didn't look transformed at all. Then Cry asked:
"So, do you feel different?"
"Yes, it's a strange feeling. I'm still me, but I know my whole being has changed. I feel much more agile, like I can move faster—and I'm stronger too. It's so special. Want to see my weapon?"
"Yesss!" Red said, practically bouncing.
Ever since he was little, he'd been obsessed with weapons of all kinds. This time, he was about to see a Soul Weapon—far better than anything made by the village blacksmith.
Summer focused, and a white glove formed around her right hand, connected to her soul stone for energy. She had never seen anything like it. It was beautiful. Each finger ended in a long, razor-sharp claw several centimeters long. Summer felt a deep connection with the glove and loved the sensation.
She could now summon her weapon whenever she wanted. When it vanished, her soul stone remained—now a lovely white. She liked her new weapon so much that she wanted to test it.
"I'm going to try my claws," she said.
"You can test them on that tree," Cry suggested.
Summer stepped back, approached the tree, focused, and slashed it with all her strength. Two claw strikes carved a large cross into the bark.
"It's not very powerful, but I love it!!!" the girl said, over the moon. "And that's what'll happen to you if you annoy me, Red!" The boy eyed the tree nervously and replied:
"Uh, nope, don't worry! I've changed, I'm calm now. If I take a hit from those claws, forget it—I'm done for," Red thought. "Alright, my turn! I'm going to find a super powerful monster. You coming, guys?"
Cry hung back this time. He had seen how it worked and was just waiting to find the monster that matched his new vision of the warrior he wanted to become. The trio searched the area for an accessible target—they spotted bouncing mushrooms and small rodents, but Red wasn't interested. Moving on, they passed the small lake. Beyond it lay a forest—far more dangerous than the plain, since monsters could hide anywhere. They decided to enter, keeping very cautious. Barely two minutes in, they came face to face with a small snake—a violet viper. It was no longer than a meter, its skin covered in violet scales—hence the name. The snake's unpleasant face and menacing posture were anything but reassuring. It didn't seem afraid, standing its ground, ready to strike. The trio was about to face their first real opponent. To Cry and Red, the viper seemed very dangerous. Suddenly, Summer stepped forward and slashed the snake quickly with her new weapon. The boys stood speechless. The usually shy girl had attacked without hesitation—and hurt it with shocking ease. The snake, clearly startled by her strike, stayed back, wary.
"You'll see—once you find your monster," Summer said confidently, "you'll feel like you can do anything."
"Cry, mind if I choose this snake as my first monster?" Red asked.
"No problem—it doesn't interest me at all. Go ahead!" the boy replied.
Overjoyed, Red moved up beside Summer.
"I'll let you catch it on your own, Red. It's injured—you shouldn't have too much trouble now," Summer said, trusting her friend.
"Okay, here we go! Come here, little guy…"
Red started chasing the snake. Even slightly wounded, it wasn't easy to catch. The sight was hilarious to Cry and Summer. No matter how Red lunged for it, the little monster always slipped away. You could almost think it was enjoying toying with him—it was perfect to be his first monster. After ten long minutes, a panting Red was finally happy to have the snake in his hands. It wasn't exactly a glorious first hunt, but he'd managed. His clothes were caked with dirt, and he'd been bitten a few times. Thankfully, the snake wasn't venomous.